The present invention relates to an insert that provides excess stiffness to a baseball glove, such as a fielder's glove. By "excess stiffness," it is meant that the glove is too stiff to catch a moving ball easily. It prevents the player from being able to flex the glove, such that it cannot be used to clutch or grasp a ball one-handedly.
This excess stiffness forces a player wearing the glove with the insert inside the glove to compensate for the deficiencies of the glove, and use both hands when catching a moving ball. It also forces the player to develop what are known as "soft hands," since a player needs to move both hands in the direction that the ball is traveling at the time it is caught to improve the chances of maintaining the ball in the glove. The invention further teaches the player to assume a position in the direct path of the ball to maximize the chance of making a firm catch of the ball. It has been found that use of the insert of the present invention improves the ability of baseball players to catch balls when the insert is removed.
One of the most difficult habits to develop in players is the practice of centering on the incoming ball and to use both hands while making the catch. This may be due in part to the flexibility of most off-the-shelf baseball gloves, which allow a player to grasp or clutch the ball with the gloved hand. Although some players may consistently execute successful catches using one hand, there is a significant chance of dropping a thrown or hit ball if one-handed catching is used instead of two-handed catching. Furthermore, the use of both hands helps a player make a throw with the caught ball much more quickly, because the ungloved throwing hand is already in contact with the ball as part of making the catch.
Various devices are known to reduce the stiffness of baseball gloves, or to act as substitutes to a flexible baseball glove. For example, such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,121,824, 4,208,051, 4,637,610, 4,802,699, 4,817,209, 4,874,168, 5,346,208, 5,601,285, and 5,671,477, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.